Felicity arrived at the café in the afternoon the next day.
Her palms were sweaty again, just like they were in the morning. She kept rubbing them against her jeans, as if it would help cool the nerves building under her skin. The café buzzed with voices, spoons and cups clattering, but even with that she barely heard anything.
Lost in her own thoughts, everything fell mute, like she had put her head under water.
Imran was sitting at the far end of the restaurant, observing the room. His phone was laid down on the table, screen dark, his coffee half gone. He wasn't scrolling or talking. Just looking around. Waiting. Thinking.
He looked up when she came over. His face gave nothing away.
"Hey." She said quietly.
"Hey" his tone was flat—controlled—didn't sound like warmth.
She sat down, across from him. The silence stretched out, long enough for the hiss of the espresso machine to fill the space between them. She could hear her pulse, hammering against her ribs.
Felicity opened her mouth, but no words came. It was as if they had gotten stuck in her throat. "I don't even know where to start?"
"Leon." He replied, "Start with him."
The name hit like a slap. Her eyes quickly looked down, avoiding his gaze. "It wasn't planned I swear. I didn't expect for it happen. We were just hanging out and—"
"And he kissed you" Imran cut in, his voice sharp now, breaking the suspense. "Yeah I heard"
She ran her fingers through her hair. Eyes fixed on the twirl of foam inside her cup. "It's not what you think, didn't happen like you would assume. I pushed him away. I left. I've been trying make sense of all of it since I left.
"Make sense of what?" his voice cracked a little, just enough to give him away. "If you want him?"
Her head lifted, eyes pleading. "Imran, that's not—"
He shook his head with a slight laugh. "You don't even have to say it. I can see it"
"That's not fair" she whispered. "We haven't been in contact for a while, and you just show up at my door step out of nowhere. You said you wanted to fix things, but you don't realize how much has happened all these while."
His jaws tightened. "I thought what we had was worth fighting for. Because I still love you."
The words hit her hard. She blinked fast, hoping it will stop the tears. "I didn't stop loving you" she said quietly.
"But….things just seem so different now. I'm not even sure who I am or what I want anymore."
"Then you should figure it out alone."
The scrape of the chair against the floor was too loud. He stood, his eyes burning with anger—or maybe heartbreak. "I can't wait around while there's another guy living rent-free in your head."
"Imran, please don't leave—"
He shook his head. "Goodbye, Felicity"
He turned around and left. She watched till his reflection disappeared, her body frozen in one place. Her chest hurt like maybe something had cracked open inside it.
Across Town, Leon's world was crumbling to pieces.
He slammed the car door so loud, it echoed through the driveway. He got into the car, banging his fist against the steering wheel. Marry Charity or lose everything.
The words kept replaying in his mind, over and over.
He barely survived the mess Isabel had gotten him into, now this. It was as if his father was throwing another chain round his neck. The version of him they always wanted—the perfect son, the obedient heir—had never really been real.
They'd built him, polished him, and now the cracks were showing.
He drove without thinking. No music. No direction. Just the hum of the engine and the noises in his head. He just wanted to escape, to get away.
He thought about Charity—her cool, perfect smile, her eyes that never softened. And his father's voice: You owe this family EVERYTHING.
He wanted to scream.
Instead he kept driving, until the city lights led him to streets he knew too well.
When he looked up, his stomach dropped.
Campus.
That's the last place he thought he would but for some reason felt like the right place at that moment.
His grip tightened on the wheel. He should have left. He told himself to. But his mind didn't follow.
A few minutes later, he was in the parking lot of the girl's hostel. The building was dark, except from the faint glow coming from a few windows. He sat there for a while, heart pounding, trying to convince himself all the reasons why he shouldn't be there.
He didn't leave.
The hallway smelt faintly of detergent and cheap air freshener. His foot echoed as he walked towards the door. He lifted his hand to knock—but froze.
Voices. Gwen's laughter. Then Felicity's—soft, tired, familiar.
He hesitated. He knew he shouldn't be there. Not now. Not ever. But before he could walk away, the door opened.
Felicity stood there. Eyes widened when she saw him. She looked pale, worn out, but there was something in her face—a flicker of relieve, or maybe slight joy.
"Leon" she said, "What are you doing here?"
He exhaled, voice shaky. "I know I shouldn't be here. I just needed to see you."
Her eyes looked down the hallway. "But you know you can't be here"
"I know." He said. "But I didn't know where else to go. My dad is trying to force me into something I don't want. I needed someone to speak to. I needed you."
Her face softened, the edge in her expression fading. "Leon…"
"I'm not here for pity." He responded quickly. His voice rough. "I just needed to see your face. To remind myself that something real still exists."
The air around them grew heavy. She wanted to tell him to leave—to save herself from what could potentially come next, but she couldn't get the words out.
"Come in" she whispered. Stepping aside from the door.
He hesitated for a second, then went inside.